A List Apart

Mac Browser Roundup (with Håkon Lie and Tantek Çelik)

T’was the week before Christmas, and Mac users received an early present: upgraded versions of Opera Software’s Opera browser and Microsoft’s Internet Explorer. We test drove and reviewed both, then asked browser makers Håkon Lie and Tantek Çelik to respond to our comments.

The Opera Browser for Macintosh now comes in two flavors: Beta 5 for systems 7.5.3–9.2, and Beta 3 for OS X. Opera Mac beta supports CSS1, HTML, XHTML, and much of ECMAScript 1.1 (the web–standard version of JavaScript).

Fast and light

Beta 5 is incredibly fast at rendering web pages. They seem to spring onto your screen in the blink of an eye. The browser is a mere 2 MB, and uses very little system memory to do its work.

The newly released version of Beta 5 is also ad–free for thirty days. (After that, you either purchase Opera or tolerate the small ad banners that show up inside its browser chrome.)

Compatibility issues

Opera does not support commonly used JavaScript preload methods optimized for Netscape and IE, so the first time you roll over a multi–state image, you may see the ALT text instead of the image’s onmouseover state. Netscape 6.x often behaves the same way, and for the same reason.

Beta 5 supports Flash, Shockwave, and Quicktime, but seems to have problems with RealPlayer.

Size matters

More significantly, Opera/Mac beta still renders type below spec: 11px text shows up as 10px, and so on.

Some have claimed that this behavior is deliberate, basing their arguments on an abstract section of CSS1 wherein experts debate the question, “What is a pixel?”

We claim that any twelve-year-old can tell you a pixel is the smallest available unit of screen space, and eleven pixels are just that (not ten). We’re also convinced that this pixel problem is a bug, not a feature – a bug that will eventually be fixed.

Opera responds

First, I’m happy to see that the Opera Mac Beta you have tested
runs fast on your system. We tweak and tune it interally, but machines,
connections, and karma vary from user to user. The feedback we
have received so far, however, indicates that Opera will be the fastest
browser on the Mac planet.

Regarding the problems you mention, we must first emphasize that we’re
still in the beta phase. We believe we can fix the RealPlayer problem
you report before shipping.

Pixel palaver

The 10px vs 11px is slightly more complicated than you describe. One pixel isn’t always one pixel.

When asked for a 10px font, Windows will return a slightly bigger font (due
to the “internal leading” issue) and browsers will typically use the
larger font. I’m a little unsure if the problem you report has the
same roots, but will look into it. Thanks for reviewing Opera for Mac! – HWL

IE5.1/Mac: the mini–review

Internet Explorer 5.1/Mac is now available for downloading. The upgrade supports Mac OS 8.1 through 9.2x – operating system versions preferred by many long–time Mac users and graphic designers. IE5.1/Mac OSX was previously available as part of Mac OS X (the Unix–based Macintosh operating system).

Web standards

Like its predecessor, the new version of IE5/Mac thoroughly supports CSS1 (along with a good deal of CSS2), JavaScript/ECMAScript, HTML/XHTML, PNG, and much of the W3C standard DOM.

Bugs ’n things

Several readers have claimed that this version of IE5/Mac fixes a long–standing anchor link bug. Not so. This version does fix a few very minor CSS rendering bugs, and it renders pages a bit faster than its predecessor, which was pretty darned peppy to begin with.

If you use OS 9 and FinderPop, avoid the checkbox that allows you to “Use translucent contextual menus,” or adjust FinderPop’s settings per the note at the end of this article.

Dep’t. of disinformation

An ill–informed journalist has stated that IE5.1/Macintosh now handles CSS “similar(ly) to the Windows version of Internet Explorer 5.5.” Uh–uh.

IE5.0/Mac was the first browser to get CSS right. The Windows version did not catch up until IE6. The new Mac browser is not imitating the flaws of an old Windows browser; it’s merely cleaning up a few of its own.

Performance: too much is never enough

While IE5/Mac was known at release for being smaller and faster than both previous versions and rivals, through some clever improvements in the Tasman engine, noticeable advances have been made both in speed and responsiveness of web pages in IE5.1/Mac.

For example, IE5.1/Mac properly supports nondeterministic matching of CSS2 selectors: child – note the last test: “(this test is harder than the others!);”
sibling – note the last test: “(This should be maroon).” Try those pages in your current browser for comparison.

Keyboard junkies and browser tweakers

During
MacHack 2000, a few of the IE/Mac developers decided to add user interface improvements that they wanted for themselves. Turns out others wanted them too!

Type–select hyperlinks

Tabbing to (or – gasp – clicking) hyperlinks is so passe. Simply type the first few characters of a hyperlink, and watch the focus ring jump to your target. Press “enter” to load your destination. Leave your mouse in the dust.

Configurable button bar

Drag any image you want to your Button Bar. Or any hyperlink. Or any hyperlinked image. Exercise for browser tweakers: take a look at your “toolbar.xml” file and see if you can hack your own active/hover/disabled images for your new buttons as well.

Interface extras

A new preference panel, “Interface Extras,” lets you customize some details of IE5.1’s user interface. My favorites: open new browser windows when other apps ask IE to go to a page, “flavorize” all your apps, and lust after those
cool Gaussian blurred translucent contextual menus. – TC

Tantek Çelik is Development Lead for the Tasman presentation engine and Microsoft’s representative to the W3C CSS working group.

FinderPop and IE5.1

FinderPop, a shareware control panel, greatly enhances the ease and utility of Mac OS. We couldn’t work without it. But some of FinderPop’s settings can conflict with the Translucent Menus in IE5.1, so if you want to see those Gaussian blurred menus in action, you’ll need to make some adjustments in the FinderPop control panel:

In the BEHAVIOR tab, uncheck “Use FinderPop CMM additions in apps other than the Finder.”

In the APPEARANCE tab, uncheck “Use this font/size for Apple Menu and Path Popups too.”

The December 6th event recap

Can typography encourage long-form reading—not just scanning? What are the most exciting areas of cutting-edge experimentation in typographic technology and digital layout, and what new skills will we need to design tomorrow’s web content? Three experts—Mozilla’s Jen Simmons, publication design legend Roger Black, and ALA’s Jeffrey Zeldman—discuss typography and layout on today’s web: where we are now, and where we’re going.

“A web designer without a copy of Designing with Web Standards is like a carpenter without a level. With this third edition, Zeldman continues to be the voice of clarity; explaining the complex in plain English for the rest of us.” — Dan Cederholm, author, Bulletproof Web Design and Handcrafted CSS